Fantasy Baseball Top 5 Matchups (Apr. 24th)

1. Alex Rodriguez (Yankees): A-Rod has six games, three each against the White Sox and Orioles. Over the last seven games the Yankees slugger is hitting .438/7/2/4/1 (Avg/Hits/HR/RBI/SB). Not numbers that blow you away this is the week he will blow his owners away. Both the Sox and the O’s have ERAs over 4.50 and are not playing good baseball.

2.Ryan Braun (Brewers): He made me look like a genius last week and if you were playing weekly fantasy games he very well may have carried your team to victory. The games best young slugger had a stat-line of .500/6/2/9/4. That’s right four stolen bases. He is all set for another series against the Pirates who he had a 5 RBI game against last week. He should continue to be hot.

3.Matt Kemp (Dodgers): Like Braun, Kemp had a big week, continuing his great season. Kemp is tied for the League lead in both HR’s and RBI, until this changes he needs to be on this list in my eyes.

4.Mark Reynolds (Diamondbacks): Reynolds has a seven game schedule set for the week, three at Colorado and four against the Cubs. In the past two years the D’Backs slugger has 7 HR’s and 15 RBI in 17 games at Coors Field. The impressive thing is that he put these power numbers up with a batting average just under .300.

5.Carl Crawford (Rays): I hate the fact that the soon to be free-agent is the third person to repeat on this list from last week, but he needs to be here. The Rays blazing base stealer has 6 games this week, 2 against Oakland and 4 vs. the Royals. As of right now the Royals have a 5.41 ERA, good for worst in the AL. Crawford has 5 SB’s in his last 7 to go along with 7 runs and 4RBIs.

Top Five Pitchers

1.Roy Halladay (Phillies): As predicted, Halladay has been sensational in the NL. He has a 1.06 ERA while controlling a 4-0 record. Having the best lineup in baseball bodes well for a ridiculous amount of wins when you can throw in a .82 WHIP. The Doc has two starts against the Giants and Mets.

2.Josh Johnson (Marlins): Johnson doesn’t have the best stats to date but he does have phenomenal equipment to work with. He will be facing the Padres and Nationals this week. The Padres are in the bottom ten in RBIs and hits while the Nats are lacking in power.

3.Yovani Gallardo (Brewers): The Brewers are ready to make some noise, and Gallardo is on the verge of becoming a fantasy stud from week-to-week. This week he has the pleasure of facing the Padres and Pirates, Pittsburgh had one run in the entire series against the Crew this past week. Gallardo has a 1.64 ERA and 15 strikeouts in his last two starts.

4.Jered Weaver (Angels): Not a big name, but Jered Weaver is good. His 2.77 ERA and 0.96 WHIP this year proves it. Thus far he has more K’s (27) than IP (26) and this week he brings that filth to the table against Cleveland and Detroit. Detroit didn’t score well in the Fantasy Power Rankings and most of that is due to their lack of offense. Cleveland is in the bottom 5 of almost every offensive category, and I am sure Weaver is aware of that. Look for 15-20 K’s this week and possibly two wins from the Angels’ ace.

5.Hiroki Kuroda (Dodgers): Kuroda was projected to have a career season and has started this year hot. So far Hiroki has a 2.18 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 18 K’s. Think about that…wish you drafted him? Well if you can, get him and use him this week as he is facing two poor offenses in Pittsburgh and the Mets.